Paperbacks From Hell

An affectionate, nostalgic, and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of the 1970s and ’80s Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate! Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity. Also included are recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried.

In Lisa Tuttle's stories, the everyday domestic world of her female protagonists is invaded by the bizarre, the uncanny, the horrific. In 'Bug House', a woman who goes to visit her aunt is shocked to find she is dying - but even more shocking is what is killing her. The divorcing couple in 'Community Property' arrive at a macabre solution for how to divide ownership of a beloved pet. In 'Flying to Byzantium', a writer travelling to a science fiction convention finds herself caught in a strange and terrifying hell. The thirteen tales in this collection are highly original and extremely chilling, and they reveal Tuttle to be a master of contemporary horror fiction. Never before published in the United States and highly sought-after by collectors, A Nest of Nightmares (1986) is a classic of modern horror. This new edition features the original paperback cover art by Nick Bantock and a new introduction by Will Errickson. 'Thirteen stories guaranteed to leave you strongly disquieted' - Neil Gaiman

“A gloriously over-the-top scare fest that has hidden depths. Readers will root for Kris all the way to the explosive, poignant finale.”—Publishers Weekly From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Only a girl with a guitar can save us all. Every morning, Kris Pulaski wakes up in hell. In the 1990s she was lead guitarist of Dürt Würk, a heavy-metal band on the brink of breakout success until lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom, leaving his bandmates to rot in obscurity. Now Kris works as night manager of a Best Western; she’s tired, broke, and unhappy. Then one day everything changes—a shocking act of violence turns her life upside down, and she begins to suspect that Terry sabotaged more than just the band. Kris hits the road, hoping to reunite Dürt Würk and confront the man who ruined her life. Her journey will take her from the Pennsylvania rust belt to a celebrity rehab center to a satanic music festival. A spine-tingling horror novel, We Sold Our Souls is an epic journey into the heart of a conspiracy-crazed, pill-popping, paranoid country that seems to have lost its very soul.

Sally Ann is a bright and bubbling farm girl, still caught in the thrill of a brand-new husband and a shining future ahead. When a careless exploration leaves her trapped underground, she learns to live again in the absence of everything she once knew. Even driven by love and light, Sally Ann finds the deepest darkness within herself in When Darkness Loves Us. Old Martha Mannes has been a part of Morgan, Illinois since her birth. The whole town knows her as the dim-witted woman who was born without a nose, but Martha's mind wasn't always a blank slate. Unlocking the monster buried deep in her memories may bring back the sparkling child she once was...or it may send those around her crashing down into the nightmares of a little girl gone wrong. A reprinting of Elizabeth Engstrom's first book, this two-novella collection twists together the beauty and horror underlying the seeming simplicity of small town life.

Each story in this four-part series of young ecology books tells of how the lives of plants and animals change when human beings become involved. This is the story of two birds who are building their nest and rearing their young. It tells of the danger they face from the children's kitten.

As a soldier in the jungle of Vietnam, Chris Stiles learned how to fight against a deadly enemy. Now the war is over, but when his brother is slaughtered in Central Park, Chris finds himself called back into action, this time to battle a different kind of foe: an army of the undead! His quest for the creature that killed his brother brings him to Isherwood, Indiana, home to 800 people--and one ancient vampire. As all hell breaks loose and the townspeople are turned one by one into blood-sucking monsters, will Chris's tactical skills and his arsenal of automatic weapons be enough to stop the vampire menace? This first-ever reprint of T. Chris Martindale's action-packed vampire romp Nightblood (1990) includes a new introduction by Grady Hendrix (Paperbacks from Hell) and the original cover painting by Greg Winters. "It's heavy-duty armaments and ghostly aid versus fangs and immortality . . . genuine entertainment!"--Locus Magazine "The scares jump off the page at you!"--Gary Brandner, author of The Howling "It tingled my spine!"--Robert Bloch, author of Psycho

Angelina is a killer. You'd never know it to look at her--until you look into her eyes. Angelina doesn't kill out of hatred or fear--she kills out of love, bringing solace to her victims, guided by the seductive Voice that speaks only to her. Angelina offers you eternal peace--at the cost of your soul! This new edition of Elizabeth Engstrom's rare and highly sought-after 1980s horror classic features an introduction by Grady Hendrix (Paperbacks from Hell) and the original cover art by Bob Eggleton. "Behind Engstrom's soft-voice style is power, is surprise, is--well, ferocity!"--Theodore Sturgeon